Tea Ceremony
by tath-chan
Summary: It was an odd thing, really, Tatsu thought as he watched Souji's face easing with genuine mirth, the way their friendship had sprung up since he and Tetsu had joined the Shinsengumi. Request fic. gen


_Here I am with another - considerably longer, hee - PMK fic! This one was requested by _**jinsai** _on LiveJournal. It ended up maybe a bit more melancholy (at least at first) than she probably wanted, but hopefully I did her idea justice. Tatsu deserves more love. XD_

_As always, there is no _BL _(/slash/shounen-ai/yaoi/whatever) intended or implied._

**Disclaimer: **_I am by no means talented enough to be the creator of this series. All the rights belong to... whomever they belong to. Certainly not to me, at any rate!_

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**Tea Ceremony**

Tatsunosuke padded down the wooden _engawa_, carefully balancing the tray in his hands and trying to be as quiet as he possibly could as he reached his destination and knelt in front of the rice-paper door. He paused for a second, listening, but no sound came from the room, which was odd. Its occupant must be asleep. Just in case, he kept his voice soft as he called, "_Sumimasen_."

At first it seemed as if he would get no answer, that the room's occupant really was asleep. But then a response drifted out. "Come in, Tatsunosuke-san." The voice was quiet and sounded bone-weary, but nonetheless it was as lilting as ever and Tatsunosuke felt some of the tension leave his shoulders. He slid open the door and carried the tray inside, setting it down cautiously and pulling the door gently shut behind him.

It was only once he'd knelt beside the tray that he finally looked up. Okita Souji was sitting up on his futon, looking as white as his yukata but with his ever-present smile firmly in place. His long hair was a bit ruffled, as if he had just woken up. Tatsunosuke hoped he had; the first unit captain had not been sleeping well since the Ikeda-ya affair almost a week ago. Saizou was dozing comfortably beside him, though he cracked an eye open at Tatsu's entrance.

Souji's smile had widened upon seeing him, and his purple eyes were warm. "Tatsunosuke-san!" he said, with a cheerfulness Tatsunosuke was pleased and rather touched to know was genuine. "I was just thinking about you, actually, and—what have you got there?" He interrupted himself to peer with childlike curiosity at the tray.

Tatsu smiled, a now-involuntary response to Souji's good humor. "Just some tea, Okita-san," he said, pouring it into one of the cups he'd brought. "I got some of my favorite blend in town today and remembered that you had said you wanted to try it."

Souji straightened up, delight bringing some color into his pale face. "Ohh, perfect!" he exclaimed, his voice just slightly hoarse. "Tea is best right after waking up from a nap, don't you think, Tatsu—" He stopped abruptly, trying to swallow a cough that forced its way out, bringing with it a dozen more that doubled the young captain over with their force.

"Okita-san!" Tatsu was at his side in an instant, supporting the deceptively frail shoulders as they heaved with the deep, wracking coughs that made him wince in sympathy. When the fit had finally past, Souji allowed himself to be supported on Tatsu's arm for a moment, exhausted once again. Tatsu said nothing, and after catching his breath Souji pushed himself up, wiping away the blood from the corner of his mouth and then tucking his hand out of sight in the sleeve of his yukata. Tatsu did not miss the subtle movements, but he knew better than to hurt Souji's pride by remarking upon them.

Souji looked up at him with a smile that was just a tinge weaker than before. "I'm fine, Tatsunosuke-san," he said, convincing neither of them. Saizou made a quiet noise of distress, and absently Souji stroked the top of his head. "I just got some dust down my throat." His shoulders were stiff beneath the arm Tatsu still had wrapped lightly around them, begging him to accept the lie.

Tatsu nodded, and removed his arm. "Well, the tea should help," he said after a moment, as lightly as he could manage. It was painful to force back the words of concern that he wanted to speak, but he knew that Souji would understand without them.

"Oh, yes!" Souji clapped his hands, meeting Tatsu's eyes for an instant in a glance that eloquently conveyed his thanks. "Please, let me try some."

Tatsu fetched the cup he had poured and passed it over to the younger man, pretending not to notice the way those slender fingers shook just a little. "It's not very sweet, remember," he warned. "You might not like it."

Souji merely rolled his eyes at him and deliberately took a large gulp. His reaction was instantaneous: he screwed his face up in a grimace that reminded Tatsu so strongly of Tetsu that he started laughing. To his credit, Souji did manage to swallow his mouthful of tea, with difficulty. Then he leveled a glare at Tatsu that would have seemed uncharacteristic had his eyes not remained playful.

"Tatsunosuke-saaan" he said plaintively, "how on earth do you _drink_ that?"

Tatsu got his snickering under control, though he was still smiling. "I did warn you," he pointed out. "I happen to like the flavor. The stuff you drink is sweet enough to rot my teeth!"

"That's rude." Souji's lips were twitching but he continued to play his part admirably. "I don't know what you have against my tea. Sweet things are good for you!"

They stared at each other for a moment following that statement, and finally both gave up at the same time and they dissolved into laughter. It was an odd thing, really, Tatsu thought as he watched Souji's face easing with genuine mirth, the way their friendship had sprung up since he and Tetsu had joined the Shinsengumi. He hadn't even noticed its subtle growth until shortly before Ikeda-ya, and it had deepened considerably in the days since then. Now he could not imagine feeling stiff or ill-at-ease in Souji's presence, though he remembered a time when he had felt both. It seemed ridiculous now.

Souji's voice brought him out of his thoughts, and he realized that he'd been daydreaming. "Tatsunosuke-san," he said, with an undertone of laughter still in his voice, "you're ignoring me."

Tatsu flushed. "Ah, I'm sorry, Okita-san. What did you say?"

"I said, 'why don't we go sit on the porch?' It's a nice day out."

"Oh. Sure, if that's what you want to do."

Souji gave him a wry look as if he sensed the objections that Tatsu had kept to himself: _The humidity might not be good for your cough, though. And it's getting hotter by the minute out there. Are you sure you're well enough?_ Neither mentioned it, however, and they moved to the porch together to sit in companionable silence for a few minutes, Saizou napping once again on his master's lap. It was actually quite pleasant here in the shade of the porch, and the yard was unusually peaceful for early afternoon, silent except for the sound of cicadas nearby and the muffled noises from the training hall. At least half the reason for this was probably that Sano, Shinpachi and Heisuke had dragged Tetsu into town on some errand—without the four loudest people around it was amazing how quiet the place seemed.

After a while Souji coughed lightly, bringing Tatsu's head around with immediate concern, but he waved it off. It was then that Tatsu noticed that Souji had brought out his cup of tea with him, and was determinedly taking another sip. "Okita-san…" he began, warmed by the kindness.

Souji just smiled. "It's not so bad," he said, "once you get used to it."

Tatsu could do nothing but smile back, and silence fell once again.

**:: owari ::**


End file.
